Stay Close
by angelofsuspense
Summary: Maddie's constanly worrying about Danny, and Vlad suggests she does another MotherSon program with him. Everything's perfect until Plasmius shows up, kidnaps Danny, and sends Maddie and a handful of parents and children to the Ghost Zone. Maddie's POV.
1. Vlad's Community Service Program

_**Summary: **Maddie worries about Danny constantly, but he never shows any sign of talking to her. Luckily, Vlad gives her an opportunity to connect with Danny in a Mother/Son, Father/Daughter community service. Everything's perfect until the Wisconsin Ghost shows up, kidnaps Danny, and sends the volunteers to the Ghost Zone... Maddie's POV._

_**Disclaimer: **This disclaimer goes for the rest of the chapters in this story. I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM! (trust me, I checked...)_

_**I KNOW! I KNOW! I started a new story...don't remind me! I'm still trying to get over it myself. But Terrible Twos is almost complete and I was half way done with this chapter anyway...Not much of an excuse huh? Ah well, enjoy the story! It's Mother/Son, Father/Daughter stuff. And as always, BIG thanks to Epona Harper for betaing...**_

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_They say stay close to your friends, but closer to your enemies. There has to be a limit as to how close you can actually get to them. I mean, some people can't even get within five feet of their enemies and yet here I am, a smart, sensible woman, not only trapped with the greatest enemy in Amity Park, but I'm also stuck behind enemy lines._

_Perhaps I should explain. My name is Madeline Fenton, or Maddie for short. I am one of the two world renowned ghost hunters in Amity Park. The second one being my husband, Jack. I think my two children, Jazz and Danny, are getting into it, too… no matter how much Jazz says she despises it. My profession and motherly instinct is what got me into this mess. Is it really too wrong to worry about your 14-year-old son? Maybe that's where the story really begins…_

"MOM!" Jazz yelled from the top of the stairs, "Hurry up we don't want to be late!"

"I'm coming Jazz! I'm coming!" I shouted from the lab in our basement. I was working hard on a new ghost hunting weapon and really didn't want to be torn away, but my 16-year-old daughter would kill me if I didn't attend her Award Ceremony.

Every year, Casper High School gives out an award to the "Brightest and Most Spirited Student in Casper' as her teacher, Mr. Lancer, had put it. Jazz had been nominated for this along with four other students. She took the opportunity _very _seriously, and everything had to be perfect.

Rushing up the stairs, I abandoned my weapon and headed for my room to get ready.

"Please don't wear your jumpsuit Mom!" Jazz called after me, "Get dressed up nice! Dad that goes for you too!" She turned in the kitchen and yelled that last statement to my husband who was snacking on some fudge he had left in the kitchen.

Slamming my door shut, I made no attempt to waste a second. I slid open the closet door and (after pushing aside all of my green-blue jumpsuits) grabbed my nicest dress from the closet. It was honestly the only 'dress' I owned and was only worn once to my sister's wedding.

As I was clipping on my earrings a thought occurred to me. I hadn't seen Danny in a while now, and here Jazz was, barking out orders to us when there was no way my youngest child was anywhere more prepared. Slightly cracking open the door, I peeked down the stairs to see Jazz still yelling at Jack. Apparently Danny was the last thing on her mind.

"Jazz," I called from atop the stairs. "Where's Danny?" Jazz froze and looked up at me. Her expression never changed and for a split second I wished I could read minds. Finally she smiled and said:

"H-He's not up there with you? In his room?" Frowning, I turned the corner and vanished from my daughter's view. Jazz came running up the stairs and threw herself in between me and Danny's door.

"Jazz!" I yelled, a little shocked and somewhat annoyed at how my daughter wouldn't let me in. "Move…"

"I-I can't!" She shouted. I raised an eyebrow at her. "I-I mean, I _can_… but what if Danny's… changing! It's not polite to just… walk in on someone."

Oh, she was good. But she was hiding something, so slightly pushing her aside, I knocked on the door.

No answer.

"Danny," I called through the cracks. "Danny sweetie, are you in there?" I thought I heard a moan. I could've sworn I did! That's what made me open the door, despite Jazz's pleas.

Danny's room was a mess. Anyone could've told you that. He had clothes thrown everywhere, his bed was no where near made, and his widow and closet door were wide open. Everything was in Danny's room…everything but Danny.

"Jazz…" I said, trying to keep my anger low, "Where's your brother?"

"Uh…" She couldn't lie now. I beamed a deathly glare to my daughter. She wasn't stupid, and she knew I wasn't either. No matter what came out of her mouth, it was going to be a lie. Walking out of Danny's room I headed for hers.

"Danny?" I asked when I opened the door. Jazz didn't follow me. Instead, she stayed in Danny's room.

"Mom!" She shouted. "I found him!" I exited out of Jazz's room to see Danny and her standing in the hallway.

"Danny?" I asked somewhat surprised, "Where were you?"

"Uh…bathroom?" He stated. It was more of a question than an answer. Shrugging it off, I hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.

"Don't do that again, okay! You really worried me!"

"Sorry Mom," he looked at the ground guiltily and then flinched.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He quickly pulled away and put on a forced smile.

"Yeah! Of course! Why wouldn't I…" He bit his lower lip, again as if to stop pain. "Be…" It was then that I noticed he was clutching his side.

"Danny what's wrong with your chest?" I asked, Danny's eyes widened and his hand fell to his side.

"NOTHING!" He shouted quickly and tried not to flinch again. He slowly started to back up into his room, "I uh… have to get ready for Jazz's… thing." And with that, he slammed his door shut.

**_------_**

"Mom? Are you okay? Hello…Mom? Mom!"

"Huh? I'm sorry, what honey?" I turned to see my oldest daughter giving me nervous glances. I couldn't really blame her. I hadn't said a word since the incident this morning, and Danny hadn't either. Jazz had been bugging me the entire ride to the school and into the auditorium. Yet, she didn't pester Danny once.

"Are you okay?" My daughter repeated. I sighed and smiled.

"Yes, Jazz, I'm okay…just like I was okay at home, and in the car, and on the way here." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Sorry for caring…" She said playfully. The lights dimmed in the room and the curtains opened up to reveal the stage. Our conversation was going to have to wait.

"Thank you for coming to Casper High's biggest event of the year!" Principle Ishiyama said as the spot light shown on her. "I would like to ask our four nominees to please come to the stage." I smiled as Jazz stood up and walked down the aisle. My eyes fell on Danny who was fast asleep in his chair.

"Danny…" I started, and shook him slightly. He pulled away and continued snoozing.

"Jack, Danny fell asl—" My husband was snoring in his chair as well. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at the two men beside me. My attention fell back on Jazz who was talking to the other honor students.

Apart from Jazz, I only knew one other person up on the stage, and that was Tucker. I wonder if Danny knew that Tucker was here. I was about to wake him up and ask him, but then two new figures walked on the stage. And I recognized both of them.

One was the mayor of Amity Park. He was smiling and taking pictures with the students. And the other…

"Vladdy!" Apparently Jack had woken up from his nap. "What's he doing here?" He did have a good point though. What was Vlad Masters doing at a high school assembly?

"Hello people of Amity Park!" My collage friend said at the stand. I know he saved Danny during the ghost invasion, but I still didn't particularly like him. "Most of you are probably wondering what a billionaire like myself is doing in your small town. Well, I would love to answer your question. Recently, ghost attacks have been destroying public property, and the mayor has requested a fund raiser in an attempt to…rebuild."

Wow, I didn't think Vlad actually cared about Amity in any way, shape, or form. This was something new.

"The mayor and I would like to announce our Mother/Son; Father/Daughter community service program." My mood brightened at that. The last mother/son thing I went to turned out to be a complete disaster…but I _did _bond with Danny…

Maybe it will be different this time…especially with Vlad being in charge and not that DALV industry.

"Together, we shall restore Amity Park," Vlad finished. "One family at a time…" Everyone applauded and Vlad stepped down off the stage. The mayor took his place.

"Thank you, Mr. Masters, for the wonderful opportunity to rebuild our community." I rolled my eyes at the mayor's _new _campaign slogan. That man will honestly do _anything_ to stay in his current position. "And now, the honor students of Casper High." I zoned out the rest of the assembly, only listening to Jazz and Tucker's speeches.

Another chance at bonding with Danny? I smiled as I glanced over at my slumbering son. It was going to be perfect this time! Nothing was going to get in the way. Just me, Danny, and whoever signs up for the program!

No planes, no problems…and no ghosts!

It was going to be perfect.

**_------_**

**_I know a lot of people write Maddie and Danny getting stuck somewhere, and having to work together. Yes, I do want to do something like that, but I can't stand coping people. It drives me insane! So, it's going to be different! It's not just going to be Maddie and Danny in the Ghost Zone with Vlad...I can promise you that!_**

**_Until next time!_**

**_-angelofsuspense_**


	2. A Visit from Vlad

**_Thanks for the reviews guys! Sorry I didn't update this sooner, I had this chapter done yesterday. But my internet like, comitted suicide on me the other day! No kidding, it even left a note: ERROR, PAGE COULD NOT BE FOUND. 'crys'_**

**_As always, thanks to Epona Harper for beta reading! Now, chapter 2--_**

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_I huddled closer to the fire that was burning in our current shelter. I, along with the volunteers that signed up for Vlad's program, am trying desperately to keep warm. I glanced deeper in the cave and shivered at the blackness that inhabited it. Actually the only thing that was keeping the musty cave alit were the green flames in the middle of us: provided by…_

Him.

_My eyes shot over to the entrance. It was dark in that direction too, but I knew he was still there. He wouldn't leave, no matter how much I insulted him, hit him, and made him feel like he was _nothing._ He wouldn't leave us. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and the figure of the boy grew with it. My eyes narrowed at the form that lay at the head of the cave. _

_The form of Danny Phantom…_

"No." Danny bluntly stated.

"Danny, you didn't even let me finish!"

"Okay, Mom, finish." I inhaled deeply.

"I want to sign you, me, Jazz, and Jack up for Vlad's Mother/Son, Father/Daughter Community Service Program..."

"No." Danny repeated and he turned to walk away.

"Danny's right, Mom," Jazz said from the couch. I didn't even think that she was paying attention with her head buried in her Congratulations Certificate. "Danny is at a very developmental stage where even the slightest of parental embarrassment could scar him for life."

"Yeah…" My youngest child added, taking seat on the couch next to his sister. "What she said."

"Jazz," I sighed. "You said the same thing when you were Danny's age…"

"Well it worked didn't it?" she asked slyly, poking her head back into her award. "I have more of a social life than he currently does—"

"HEY!" I snickered at Danny's outburst. But we were getting off topic…

"Now…about Vlad's program…"

"Mom, I don't want to go-"

"Why not Danny?" That came out a little harsher than I had intended, but I was getting a little frustrated with him. Especially since I had suspected this was going to be his reaction.

"All you do is hang out with your friends, doing who knows what, and mysteriously get hurt in the process! Danny, this program is going to help the community from the ghost attacks! The least you can do is _pretend_ to care! It's not like you do anything else to help around in this town!"

Jazz snorted for some weird reason. I thought I had imagined it at first, but then I saw her trying to conceal her snickers from behind the paper in her hand. I shook it off though. She was probably making fun of Danny getting in trouble…

"I do care, Mom!" Danny snapped. "And I do a lot of things for this town! More than anyone will _ever _know! I just don't want to do anything with Vlad! Remember last time? We we're stranded in the Rocky Mountains, being chased around by ghost animals that wanted to tear us limb from limb!"

"Wait…What?" Jazz looked confused. I forgot she didn't know that. Danny seemed to ignore her so I did the same.

"That was with DALV, Danny, not Vlad! It will be different this time!"

"How Mom? _How _will it be different? It's going to be exactly the same! He's going to annoy me, make stupid comments about Dad, and try to hit on you!"

"I've forgiven him for that! The same day he SAVED YOUR LIFE!"

"HE RUINED IT!" Danny shouted.

"How Danny!" I snapped. "You're not making any sense! How did Vlad Masters ruin your life?"

"Forget it…" He muttered and jumped up off the couch. "You wouldn't understand…." He walked past me and stormed up the stairs. I didn't try to stop him. I was too angry to even attempt to shout something back. Only when he turned the corner did I feel guilty.

"Danny—" I called after him. I was cut off by the sound of his slamming door. Sighing, I turned to Jazz.

"What? Don't look at me! It's not my fault he doesn't like Vlad…" _But why doesn't he? _Vlad never did anything to Danny…so why would—

'_**Ding' 'Dong'**_

How many times did I have to get interrupted today? Irritated and a tad heartbroken, I answered the door.

"Maddie…so good to see you…and Jasmine, congratulations on winning your award."

"T-Thank you, Mr. Masters…" Jazz muttered. She sunk deeper into her chair as I let my old college friend into our house.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as sweetly as possible.

"Oh, I'm in town for a few days and decided that I might as well stop by and say hello to my old friend. Speaking of which… where is that ghost blabbing man… hm?" My eyes narrowed slightly.

"Downstairs." I spat then sat down next to Jazz. I sighed heavily and propped up my head with my hands.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" I didn't look up at Vlad's words, but I felt him sit down next to me. "And I must say, you are looking marvelous today…"

"Okay…" Jazz suddenly shouted. She shot up off the couch and smiled sheepishly. "I-I'm going to go see if Danny's okay… Have fun talking you two!" I watched my daughter speed up the stairs, and I could've sworn with each step she muttered an 'Ew!'. Smiling to myself, I leaned back.

"Is it young Daniel that has you stressed out?" Vlad asked. Maybe he really did care about our family...

I nodded. "He just seems so… secretive lately. It's starting to worry me. His grades are slipping, he's shaking off his chores, he's been breaking curfew, half the time I don't even know where he is, he's been coming home exhausted, and lately I think he's been getting hurt. I worry about him, Vlad, I really do! What if he doesn't come home one day? What then? I don't think I could even bare the thought…" I choked off, holding back my tears. Vlad patted my back sympathetically.

"Daniel is… mysterious… but I'm sure he's not doing anything illegal Maddie. He really doesn't seem like the lawbreaking type."

I smiled at that. Boy was that true.

"If you're really worried about him, why don't you sign up for my Community Service Program? I really think you will bond with Daniel in ways… you didn't even think possible. Who knows… you might just learn something… _interesting_… about him."

Was Vlad implying something I didn't know about? Wait… did he know what Danny was constantly doing?

"I tried to convince him, he won't go with me. I'm afraid if I force him then he'll just rebel some more."

"Why doesn't Daniel want to go?" Vlad asked slyly. I think he already knew the answer, but I gave it to him anyway.

"I don't think he got over the whole… Rocky Mountain trip that one weekend." And he hates you for some reason.

"Ah, yes… I do apologize for that Maddie. I honestly do not know _what _had gotten into me that day. I do hope that you can forgive me?" I thought about it for a minute, then smiled.

"Yes, Vlad, I forgive you, but I don't think Danny and I will be able to make it to your Community Service Program."

"Well, I'm sorry to report that I'm not going to be able to make it either."

"What?" But it's your program!

"Yes, I know. Sad, but true. I have to help with a big surprise that I'm planning. I can guarantee that you are _not _going to want to miss it though—"

'_**BOOM!'**_

An enormous explosion from the basement shook the whole house, and was then swept away by an eerie silence.

"Jack!" I shouted as realization finally occurred to me. Jumping off the couch, I darted into the kitchen and down the lab stairs. Vlad followed closely behind.

The first thing I noticed that was different about the lab was the new gigantic, gaping hole in the middle of the wall. About three feet below it was a green, cardboard ghost that had been propped up for target use, and, standing a good two yards away was my husband. He still had my Fenton Bazooka in aiming stance and had just noticed me and Vlad standing in the doorway.

"Vladdy!" He shouted, tossing my weapon aside. I flinched as it clanged on the ground. "How've ya been? I loved your speech by the way! Even though I had no idea what you were blabbing on about."

"Might I ask, Jack, what were you doing during your daughter's award ceremony?"

Leaving the two to bicker, I walked over to the scorched wall. Rubbing my index finger across it, I looked at the black soot covering it and stuck out my tongue in disgust.

"Wow, Jack," I turned to him and smiled. "Your aiming has improved!"

"What do you mean it improved?" Vlad snapped. "He missed! Horribly!" Jack smiled sheepishly and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah," I added. "But he used to hit the ceiling… or the wall behind him."

"Ah… thanks Maddie." I smiled at my husband. "I've been practicing."

"Mom? Is everything okay?" I heard Jazz call from atop the stairs. Before I could answer, both my children came barreling down to the lab. Jazz stopped when she saw the hole.

"Wow, Dad! You're getting better!" I shot a triumphant smile to Jack then turned to Danny. He wasn't looking at me, but frozen and staring at the billionaire next to us. Vlad's eyes narrowed at my son, and I wanted now more than ever to know the conflict between them.

"So, Jack," Vlad started. He finally tore his eyes away from Danny who was now gritting his teeth. "Are you going to sign up for my Mother/Son, Father/ Daughter Community Service Program?" Danny gasped and his attention jumped over to Jack.

"Your what?"

"My Community Service Program. It's to help all the destruction from the ghost kid's battles. What a menace!" Again, he looked at Danny who glared angrily in response.

"Hangout with Jazz all day picking up garbage, and helping old people?" Jack asked, somewhat annoyed. His tone quickly changed into an enormous grin and he snatched Jazz into a bone crushing bear hug. "I'd love to!"

"WHAT? Dad! Come on! Think about this!" Jazz shouted, attempting to pull away from her father.

"And what about you Maddie?" Vlad turned to me. I glanced over at Danny who was mouthing 'NO' and shaking his head furiously. I smiled at Vlad.

"Of course Danny and I are going… we wouldn't miss it for the world, right Danny?" All attention fell on my youngest child. Danny's shoulders sunk and he sighed. He knew when he was beat.

"Yeah, I guess…" he barely muttered.

"Well, it's settled then!" Vlad shouted happily. "I'll see you all this weekend."

I didn't even bother to mention that he said he wasn't going. I was way too happy!

"Vlad," I whispered while Jazz continued complaining to Jack and Danny sulked in a corner.

"Yes, Maddie?"

"Thanks." He smiled and nodded.

"Not a problem, my dear, and trust me, Danny's going to be fine." He vanished up the staircase, leaving me with my family.

Jazz was still rambling on, Jack was trying to comprehend all the extended vocabulary words Jazz was throwing at him, and Danny was currently banging his head on the wall.

"I sure hope so…" I muttered to myself then went to go clean up the mess on the wall and pick up my fallen Bazooka.

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**_And that's that. I'm off to find something to hit my brothers with. The only way to shut them up is throw something at them... and hope that they don't throw it back. I swear! It's like Smack Down/ Tag Team at my house! (Now who wants to come over?) _**

**_-angelofsuspense_**


	3. Midnight Complecations

**_I'm not dead! YAY! Sorry for taking so long to update this story. Believe me, it's been on my to-do list for quite a while now, and I just haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for being so patient though, and thanks for reviewing the last chapter as well. Unfortunetly, my email is acting up, so this chapter hasn't been beta-read. I applogize for gramitical errors in advance. Enjoy chapter 3--_**

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_"Don't worry Maddie… Daniel will be fine." Vlad's words rang in my head over and over again. I still couldn't believe that this was happening. Danny, my Danny, my little baby boy… gone, missing, _kidnapped_ by a lowlife putrid ghost. I swear on my life that when I get Danny back and, after I take out Phantom, that Wisconsin Ghost is going to wish he never messed with my family._

"Mom? Normally, I admire your new, positive outlook on life... but… you're starting to scare me." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry Jazz," I smiled. "You just have no idea how happy I am!"

"To go to the grocery store?" Jazz blinked, clearly confused. I laughed again, and shook my head.

"I just can't wait until tomorrow."

Jazz's smile fell. "Oh." A hint of anger crossed her face and she folded her arms. "I still don't think that you should _force_ Danny to go to that stupid thing…"

"I'm not _forcing _anyone to do anything." Okay, I'm not going to lie. I was getting annoyed. I seemed to have been the only one happy about the event tomorrow.

Jack had forgotten about it, Danny was depressed and complaining to anyone who'd listen, and Jazz wouldn't stop bothering me about how 'immoral' I was being.

"Mom, think about it." Jazz sighed. "You _knew_ Danny didn't want to go, but as soon as Vlad brought up the subject, you played dumb."

"No, I didn't…" I scowled, trying to remember exactly what had happened only hours before.

Jazz sighed. "Okay. I'm going to go do my homework so I have 'free time' tomorrow for your imprisonment."

I rolled my eyes as my daughter turned and left the kitchen.

She'd get over it. She was, after all, just defending Danny.

"Maddie!" I snapped out of my thoughts, and smiled at my husband who had just run into the kitchen. "Are we going or not? We're out of fudge! And we need fudge to live!" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Correction Jack, _you_ need fudge to live. The rest of us can survive." My husband smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders.

"But _Maddie!_" he whined. "I like fudge!" I smiled and twirled the RV keys around my index finger.

"Alright Jack, I'll meet you in the RV, just let me grab my checkbook from upstairs." Jack grinned and dashed out of the kitchen. I giggled as I walked up the stairs.

Oh, how I love that man. It's small things like this that make me—

"HATE HIM!" I jumped at the outburst coming from my son's room. "I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM, I. **_HATE_**. HIM!" My first reaction was to open the door. To run over to Danny and see what was wrong with him, who he hated, why he hated… but I didn't. Instead I found myself leaning up against the door to hear the conversation easier.

"Danny, be quiet!" My daughter shushed. "You don't want anyone to hear."

"I don't care, Jazz!" Danny said, a little bit quieter, but his voice was still raised. "I don't care… I hate him… I hate him so much!"

"Danny, it's okay." Jazz soothed. Knowing Jazz, she was probably hugging her brother. "It's just for one day, and it's not like he's going to do anything with Mom right there with you."

Vlad? They were talking about Vlad? I knew that Danny didn't like him… but I had no idea he absolutely despised the guy.

"Maddie?" I jumped and nearly put my husband in a headlock.

"Jack! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Aw, sorry Maddie, but you were just taking so long. I was waiting for—"

"About five minutes Jack."

"Five minutes too many!" He complained, and tried to snatch the keys out of my hands.

"Here." I handed them to him and he looked at me confused.

"Maddie? What—?"

"Something's wrong with Danny and I'm going to try to figure it out, just… get whatever you want." I walked into my room and walked over to the window. Jack's figure was just visible through the dark, but he was visible nonetheless. I waited until after the RV was out of view before sitting down on my bed.

"Danny?" I called, "could you come here a minute?" Jazz walked by my open door first. She probably went into her room after leaving Danny's.

"Yeah Mom?" Danny asked as he sat down on my bed.

"Danny…" I sighed. It was going to kill me to say this. "You… don't—If you don't want to—Well."

"That's nice." He said and smiled. I sighed and forced a laugh.

"You don't have to go to the Vlad's thing tomorrow if you don't want to." His smile fell in an instant.

"What?"

"I know you don't get along with Vlad, and I may never know the reason, but I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to do."

"Um…" He seemed distracted, like he was staring at something out the window. I tried to follow his gaze, but my eyes didn't lead to anything. When I looked back at Danny he was smirking mischievously. Boy, was I lost.

"Danny?" He looked at me and grinned.

"Nah, don't worry about it Mom." He looked back out the window. "I'll go, but I won't just be doing community clean-up."

I shrieked with excitement and yanked my shocked son into a tight, tackle-hug.

"Oh, thank-you Danny! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"You have no idea how much this means to me either." He said, after he recovered from my sudden affection.

"You should get to bed, Danny. We're leaving first thing in the morning. That goes for you too Jazz!" My red-headed daughter fell into the doorframe. Danny and I laughed. I was just guessing when I thought she was eavesdropping. I didn't know she was actually there.

"Your probably right Mom. Night." Danny walked out of the room and into his. Jazz looked confused, but obeyed my request and went to bed. I fell onto my own bed. Before I knew it, I had closed my eyes and dozed off.

* * *

"**_AHHHHHHHH!_**" I shot up out of bed, my heart was racing from the strange disturbance coming from outside. At first I thought I had imagined it. I glanced over to my side and looked past my sleeping husband to see the time.

3:14. I moaned as I rolled out of bed.

Who would be up this early in the morning? I stumbled out into the hallway and looked in Jazz's room. I could just make out the form of my child, wrapped up in a puffy pink blanket and buried in pillows.

I closed her door and walked over to check on Danny. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the bed was empty.

"**_AHHHHHHHH!_**"

"DANNY!" I almost fell down the stairs, I ran down them so fast. I didn't even bother opening the door, I just kicked it clean off. I was actually thankful that I had fallen asleep with my jumpsuit on. I had everything I needed right in my pocket.  
"I don't know what you're planning Daniel, but you won't win." The voice sounded haunting. A slight echo clung to it and it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Let—GO—of—ME!"

"No Daniel. Never. You will never get away from me. Until the day you die. Which I, will be more than happy, to help happen sooner if you are unwilling to cooperate." Both voices were coming from above. My jaw dropped.

Danny Phantom looked horrible. I've seen him pretty beaten up before, but never like this. His uniform was torn in a dozen places, but the most obvious one was the big rip across his chest. The upper-part of his forehead was seeping in a greenish blood, and his arm hung limply by his side. Not to mention how he seemed to be fighting in and out of consciousness.

The ghost that was holding him captive didn't really seem to care about any of the younger ghost's injuries though. In fact, he was making them worse. I recognized the older ghost instantly. That was the ghost that overshadowed Jack when we went to Vlad's School Reunion. What was the Wisconsin Ghost doing here? Out of fear of being seen I hid behind our neighbor's car and watched the fight above me.

"**_AHHHHHHHH!_**"

I don't know what made me step in. I've been asking myself that question for a while now… and I still don't know what made me help Phantom. It haunted me even now.

Phantom was the enemy; I should be hunting him, not helping. Eventually I just settled with the thought that he was keeping me up. Either way, the ghost kid didn't even try to pull up when he fell out of his captor's hands. The Wisconsin Ghost fled the moment I shot him, and Phantom phased through the pavement: leaving me alone.

Danny wasn't the one screaming, so I went back inside to see if I could find him there. Sure enough, he was fast asleep in his bed. I smiled as I headed back to my room and changed into pajamas.

Tomorrow was the program, and hopefully we didn't have a stupid ghost problem like tonight. I doubted it though. Danny Phantom did seem seriously injured after all. It would be a while before he got back into action. Excitement rushed through me as I crawled back into bed. I can't wait for tomorrow!

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**_And that's that. Hope you like it. As always review for me please! Also, I got a scanner! I got a scanner! Yay! That means that I got a deviant account as well. http:// angelofsuspense. deviantart. com (without the spaces). It really isn't much (and when I say not much I mean 2 things), but hey! I'm new at this and still messing around and trying to understand it all. Bare with me people! AoS is out! Later._**

**_-angelofsuspense_**


	4. Problems Arise

**_I know, I know, the last time I updated ANY of my stories has been like... forever ago, and I really am sorry. School has been horribly annoying and I'm currently looking for a job to make some money. Hehe, money's cool. Anyway, I wanna thank you guys for you're patience (esp. cause I wanted to update this on my birthday which was March 12--Yikes!), and I also want to thank Epona Harper, for without whom, this fic would not be possible. Hehe! _**

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I knew that Danny didn't want to go to the event in spite of his words the day before. The fact that he was stiff and staring out the RV window with a ticked-off look pasted on his face was a pretty good indicator that he'd rather be somewhere else, but I was oblivious to just about everything at the moment. I had gotten the 'yes' I had so desperately plead for from my son and nothing could make me happier. But I didn't want Danny to be peeved the entire time, so I had thought that it would be a good idea to bring up something Vlad had told me yesterday.

"You know Jack, it's sad." I said casually, making sure I was loud enough for Danny to hear in the back. "Vlad had worked so hard to get this event up and running and he isn't even going to be there." I looked at Danny out of the corner of my eye. I knew he heard me. He had perked up a bit, but his surprised expression soon turned to something I didn't think I'd see. Suspicion.

Why was Danny paranoid about something as simple as community clean-up?

"Danny, are you okay?" I asked. I was really getting annoyed about missing so much; all these silent cues that everyone seemed to get but me. It was about time I asked some questions.

"Me?" Danny seemed somewhat surprised. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Um… Vlad's not going to be there?"

I smiled and shook my head no.

"Why not?"

"He said something about a surprise that he was working on, and that we didn't want to miss it." My words didn't even faze him, and I decided to be quiet the rest of the ride before I ruined whatever little communication I had with my son. I didn't know why he had so many mixed feelings for this thing. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen. This was community service – it couldn't have anything but a positive effect… right?

Well, chances were Danny would get over the ordeal and enjoy it like the rest of us. The only thing I didn't get was how exhausted he was that day. I had to practically push him out of his bed just to get him to wake up that morning, and he was moaning every time I touched him. I felt bad, but he had to get up. I swear, sometimes that boy seems so scrawny.

"WE'RE HERE!" Jack shouted, breaking me out of my thoughts. He took an unnecessarily sharp turn to park the RV, and the first 'perfect' drive with Jack was ruined when we ended up crushing another car.

"Sorry about that!" I shouted down to the owner. His mouth was agape and his eyes were fixed, horrorstricken, on the vehicle that was now under ours.

"Quick!" Jack shouted, kicking Danny and me out of the RV. "Let's get out of here before he finds his words." Typical Jack—I swear that man will do anything to get out of trouble. We slowed down when we reached the crowd of people. Excitement was bubbling in my stomach again and I could hardly hold myself back.

"Isn't this exciting Danny?" I asked, looking down at my son. Was he limping?

"Yeah…" He sarcastically muttered. "I can hardly hold back my enthusiasm."

"Jazz was wrong, huh?" Jack cheered. "We did beat her to this thing, she owes me five bucks."

"Don't you think it's kind of odd that Jazz decided to walk to the event, Jack?" I asked. "I just don't understand why she wouldn't want to drive with her wonderful family."

"MADDIE! THE GUYS IN WHITE ARE HERE!" Jack grabbed onto my arm and jumped up and down.

"Beats me…" Danny answered my question, again sarcasm was in his voice. I ignored him and smiled at my husband who now had a reason to be excited, although I still never understood why my Jack idolized the Guys in White. And why were they here? They didn't think that if they hung around they might find clues to Danny Phantom's whereabouts would they? I even knew this was a pointless effort.

"Quiet down! Quiet down please!" Everyone turned to the familiar, magnified voice of Amity Park's mayor. It was at that moment I realized how wonderful the place actually was. An enormous stage was set up in front of the crowd. A banner reading Amity Park's Community Service Volunteers swung overtop of the magnificent speakers that filled up the two ends of the stage, and three chairs were occupied by people running the event. Mr. Lancer was in the first chair, and although he was smiling, it was clear he would rather be somewhere else. Principle Ishiyama was quietly sleeping in the second chair, and the third chair was unoccupied. It was probably the mayor's who was currently at the podium and also looked uninterested. Wasn't anyone excited about this?

"Today begins our first annual community… thing. Please check the charts to see what group you belong in." He dully pointed to a table, but no one was in any real hurry to see where they belonged.

"Bye, Jack!" I cheered, kissing him on the cheek and pulling Danny through the crowd.

"Group One! Oh wow, Danny, isn't this exciting?" I know I've asked that question so many times it was probably drilled into my son's head, but I was just too happy at the moment. Like a little kid on Christmas morning, every little detail made me so cheerful.

"Group One, please go with Mr. Lancer. That includes Baxter, Fenton, and Foley." The mayor continued in his dull tone.

"Did you hear that, Danny?" I smiled as our group assembled. "Tucker's in our group."

"Yeah, but so is Dash…" he muttered and crossed his arms. "And Tucker's going to be late. He called me this morning."

"Well, at least he's coming, right?" I tried to cheer him up, but to no avail.

The mayor's voice was toned out as the group followed Mr. Lancer deeper into the park until we reached an actual playground that was rusted from age and battered from abuse. The slide was dented so far that the middle of it almost touched the ground, all of the swings were pulled off and hung carelessly over different parts of the park, and pulled up earth was everywhere.

"What happened here?" Mrs. Baxter asked. "And why are you showing me this? When are the people coming to clean my house?"

"Mrs. Baxter, should I inform you that this clean-up is cleaning up the mess left behind from ghost battles. I honestly have no idea, nor do I care about, the current condition of your house" Mr. Lancer dully stated, picking up a broom that was left on the ground. The rest of us followed his lead.

"So… we're going to have to clean this up ourselves?" Mrs. Baxter continued, still somewhat in disbelief. Danny and I snorted and ignored the rest of the woman's comments.

"I wonder how all of this happened… I wasn't here for this fight," I muttered to Danny who looked guilty for some reason.

"Um… Mom?" he began, a little unsure. I looked up from the trash pile I had created. "I uh—" he shivered and his icy blue breath was visible for a moment. Panic instantly replaced guilt. "I uh—feel kinda… weird. Can I go sit down? Over there?" He twirled his finger around and was very vague as to where he wanted to sit down, but he did look a little pale so I agreed. I watched him disappear into the woods and sighed.

"Hey, Mrs. Fenton." I turned to see Tucker grinning at me. "Sorry I'm late. My mom wanted to make sure our house was clean before we left. Where's Danny?"

I sighed and shrugged. "He wasn't feeling well so he went to go sit down somewhere."

A resounding crack in the distance caused everyone to jump and turn their heads curiously. It was followed by the whooshing sound of a tree falling and crashing to the ground, and I think I felt my heart sink along with it. It was coming from the direction that Danny went. My eyes widened and I began to run that way, but a familiar black and white blur knocked into me instead. I fell over and the figure continued rolling until a rock stopped him.

I flipped over and pushed Mrs. Baxter aside. She dropped the broom she had been arguing about when I did so, I ignored that. My focus was all on the fallen ghost boy. I hauled Danny Phantom up to his feet, and then hoisted him completely off the ground. To my surprise, the kid was actually extremely light.

"What happened?" I shouted so loud that he actually turned away. He probably had a headache on top of other injuries, and me screaming in his face wouldn't have helped that but I could've really cared less at the moment. Phantom lifted an eyelid and, still panting, pointed a shaky hand to the woods. I snapped my head in the direction he pointed and found that the rest of Group One had stuck around.

"What happened?" I hissed. My tone was icy and cruel and I knew it, but it caused Phantom to look up at me and for a split second I felt sympathy toward him. His once, brilliant green eyes were dulled down as he lost power, and green ooze was seeping out of both new and old, reopened cuts. His eyes begged me to leave, but I refused to move.

"Run." He finally managed to mutter. His voice was frail and worn out. "P-Please… leave. He's c-coming b-back."

"Who?" My voice had softened slightly, but I still clung on to the demanding tone. Phantom's breathing became heavier, and I remembered his condition last night. It was only a matter of time before he slipped into unconsciousness so I needed to get what I wanted out of him fast. "Who's coming?"

"Now Daniel... let's not make a big scene out of our little disagreement." Phantom's head shot up at the chilling voice behind me. Slowly I turned around, and my eyes narrowed.

The Wisconsin Ghost was hovering a few feet above the dented slide. His arms were crossed and his haunting red eyes were fixed on the ghost kid in my hands. In all honesty, the creep could have Phantom. I just wanted my son.

"Please go…" Phantom pleaded. His breathing became slower and his body grew limp. "Please…"

I squeaked slightly as the boy ripped out of my grip. The older ghost had shot a blast at him and he flipped behind the giant bolder he had hit earlier.

"Kids nowadays. They just don't listen to you the first time you demand something." The Wisconsin Ghost grinned. He dropped down to ground level.

"Where's my son?" I snapped. I was actually surprised by the tone of my voice, for I sounded much braver than I actually was.

Here I was, an unarmed ghost hunter against the toughest ghost I think I've ever faced, and by the looks of what he did to Phantom… Oh perfect.

"I didn't do anything to young Daniel, Maddie." How does he know our names? "Well, not the Daniel you know. Now if you would be so kind as to move aside and not meddle in affairs that don't concern you, then I will be out of your life for a good while."

My eyes searched for something… anything that I could use as a weapon against this freak. Eventually I saw the broom that Mrs. Baxter had dropped. I would only have one shot at this, so I had to be quick and extremely precise. Slowly the ghost slid across the grass, not moving his legs once. He showed no sign of stopping until he drew level with me, but even then all he did was slow down.

I knew what he wanted. It lay unconscious behind that rock and I couldn't let him get Phantom until I got my son. In a swift move, I kicked the end of the broom with my foot so it jumped upward and I snatched it. I pivoting as I jumped, and I swung it around to smack the Wisconsin Ghost square in the gut. Finally, the members of

Group One decided to run, but they were prevented by the Guys in White who charged up with weapons blazing.

"Ghost identified as a Class A specter." the first man said.

"Proper precautions have been made: activating PORTALble, to send the ghost into the Ghost Zone." the second member replied, clicking a button on a lint roller. A green aura shot at the Wisconsin Ghost who easily smacked it away. It fell to the ground where it pooled and quivered like a radioactive puddle.

"You fool!" the first agent exclaimed, strange how neither his facial expression nor his tone changed. "The PORTALble has not yet been field tested. It hasn't even been lab tested."

"Should we follow procedure 3-472?" the second one asked.

"Run away and blame the incident on you? Yes."

I scowled at the retreating figures. Seriously, how could Jack possibly idolize them? I turned my attention back to the portal that was now beginning to suck the contents around it into the Ghost Zone. That included Group One, the slide, the broken swings, and me. In fact, the only thing the stupid portal didn't suck in it was Phantom or the Wisconsin Ghost.

And speaking of that worthless piece of ectoplasm…

I shot a deathly glare at the Wisconsin Ghost as I dug my fingers into the ground in a last-ditch effort to anchor myself against the relentless suction. He had flown over to the rock to gain his prize, but what he lifted up wasn't Danny Phantom. My vision turned black as I was sucked into the Ghost Zone, and the last thing I saw was the battered figure of my son over the Wisconsin Ghost's shoulder.

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**_And that's that. Please, PLEASE don't ask me about Terrible Twos. I WILL finish is. Promise. I just need some time to make it make sense and stuff. In other news, happy Cinco de Mayo to all who celebrate it, and kudos to anyone who has seen the Spider-man 3 movie... you lucky jerks!_**

**_-AoS_**


	5. Welcome to the Ghost Zone

**_Whoa... Terribly sorry for the long wait guys. I actually had this done a few weeks ago. I sent it to my beta-er but never got it back. Overtime I grew impatient and said w/e, I'll beta it myself. In other words... sorry if it sucks _:**

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I felt the cold ground beneath the palm of my hands as I lay face down in the mud. The atmosphere was a combination of a cool humidity and a chilly eeriness that was almost impossible to explain. My eyes were closed, but I was conscious, somewhat praying that my past memories had simply been a horrific dream. Moaning slightly, I slowly opened my eyes and sat up.

A vague and quick glance at the environment caused a sudden urge to shut my eyes again. The atmosphere matched the ghostly inhabitant. I hadn't the slightest idea where I was, but it resembled a forest-like structure. Bizarre shapes twisted into abnormal ways straight into the ground and it took me a while to realize these 'things' were he Ghost Zone's idea of trees. My vision turned to the sky and my mouth dropped.

Enormous clouds of green swirled and danced in hypnotizing designs. What really caught my attention, though, were the lone doors that were scattered across the Ghost Zone. They bobbed up and down in a slightly haunting way, and every so often one would open to revile a ghost, only to have the entity float over to another door and vanish from my view.

If I had been here under any other circumstances, this place would have fascinated me to no end. Every time I thought I understood this odd world, something different would catch my eye and defy the laws of physics once more. The Ghost Zone was impossible to decipher. But then again, researching the Ghost Zone wasn't my in priority at the time; I needed to find Danny… and the rest of Group One for that matter.

I may have been unarmed, but I had a much higher survival rate than Lancer, the Foley's, or the Baxter's. I rose to my feet and shivered from the slight eerie coldness that surged through my body. How could anything—including ghosts—possibly find this place comfortable enough to call a home? To make matters worse, every noise I heard was either a Group One member, or a horrific, man-eating monster that resided on my floating rock. Somehow though, I found the courage to move forward.

"How could I let this happen?" I muttered as the memories crept there way into my mind. "If I hadn't pressured Danny into coming here—This is all my fault…"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream was faint in the direction I was heading, but it still made me jump with unwanted excitement. "No! No! GET AWAY! AHHHHHHH!" The last bit was enough to tell me that the scream was human, and I soon found myself running to investigate. A small cliff lay ahead of me, and it was increasingly clear that the scream was below it, especially when the owner shouted again. It was female, probably Mrs. Baxter. Ironically she's the first person I found in this haunting place. I leaped over the boulders, landing neatly on the other side and faced the outcry from my terrified colleague.

Mrs. Baxter was taking refuge in a corner. Her one arm shielded her face, while the other wielded a dull stick that she was swinging around carelessly. Her clothes were slightly torn and her face was a somewhat dirty, but aside from that she seemed perfectly fine.

"Mrs. Baxter?" I asked, getting up from my frog-like stance and walking over to her cautiously.

"STAY BACK!" she shrieked. "I KNOW HOW TO DEFEND MYSELF FROM YOU! I DO!" My eyes narrowed from annoyance and boredom and in a swift move I snatched away the woman's weapon.

"No, you don't. Now calm down. What's that matter with you? You look like you've seen a—"

"_Don't _finish that sentence, Fenton!" She barked, her eyes flashed me an evil glare and she grinded her teeth together. Stumbling slightly, she rose to her feet. "Where are we anyway? I was walking along, looking for Dash and then I was attacked by some weird thing."

"Well that's specific…" I muttered. She caught my sarcasm and growled.

"I'm serious, Maddie! This place isn't right! I mean look at that!" She pointed to a green squirrel scurrying up an almost circular tree. The squirrel had two tails, one eye, and two sharp, pointy fangs that extended down to its chin. When it noticed us, its eye turned red and it hissed violently before it scurried off and disappeared into the thick bush.

"_Not right!" _Mrs. Baxter's voice was an ecstatic whisper. Her eyes shot around in every direction and every noise made her jump.

"You're not right…" I muttered. She gave me an irritated look and was about to respond before I cut her off to avoid an argument. "Have you seen the others?"

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"The others? Lancer, the Foleys… your son?" How stupid was this woman?

"No, I haven't." She mumbled. "Do you think they're far?"

"Probably not, we all did get sucked in at the same time right? Wouldn't we all have ended up together?"

Mrs. Baxter shrugged. "I don't really know, I was kind of asking you…"

I rolled my eyes and walked past her. Her eyes widened and her breathing grew louder. "W-Where are you going?" She asked; panic scattered in her voice.

"Looking for everyone else..." I didn't try to make it sound sarcastic, but honestly… _DUH! _

"We'll don't leave me here!" She shouted, snatching up the stick she had previously.

If only… "Come on then!" You idiot.

It didn't take long for the anxious woman to be right on my heels. She was so close to me that I could hear her breathing, swallowing, and muttering some nonsense to herself. I tried to ignore her, but it was quite frustrating. Not to mention anytime I stepped on something that would make a noise she would shriek and swing her twig around carelessly. She hit me in the back of the head a few times and I was tempted to take it and backhand her. I was actually surprised that I didn't, but her nervousness did eventually get to the point where I couldn't take it anymore.

"Would you stop that?" I snapped, tossing the twig to the right and rubbing the back of my head. "You're giving me a headache."

"Well _sorry _that we can't all be used to ghost territory." She snapped. Just to make her mad I purposely crunched the stick to dust under my feet. She shrieked and scanned the area. We were completely surrounded by misshapen trees.

"What was that?" she panicked. I tried to hold back a smirk.

"I don't know." I stated in fake fear, "Maybe a malevolent, horrific monster dining on a ghost's bones. Painfully crunching slowly and enjoying the screams of its victum… or a twig… you never know." I turned to face my counterpart. Her face was fixed into a fearful expression and she was slightly pale. Her mouth kept opening and closing and she kept swallowing as if it were dry.

"Relax, I'm just kidding. It was nothing, really." My reassuring words didn't stop her from coming closer to me. I frowned in annoyance, but didn't say anything about it. Talking must've calmed her down somewhat because she continued her mumbling from before, only this time she seemed like she wanted to communicate with me.

Oh, _perfect…_

My patience was growing thin and I wanted so desperately to get her useless conversation over with so I finally asked her what the heck she wanted.

"Oh… um… nothing." She said. A few seconds passed and she her ramblings again. "What do you think— um… never mind."

"No, what?" I asked, coming to a complete stop. Her tailgating cased her to bump into me.

"Well… um… I was just wondering if… What do you think… um…"

"I can't give you an answer to a question you didn't ask." I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think Danny Phantom and that other ghost were fighting about?"

My eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Well… that other ghost had Phantom beaten up pretty badly, from what I could see anyway. But then again you were the closest to him… I just wanted to know what they were fighting about."

I turned around and continued walking, rolling my eyes in the process. Either Mrs. Baxter didn't seem to care that I completely ignored her or she didn't notice, but she wouldn't get the hint that she was annoying the hell out of me.

"Who do you think he was?" I sighed as the nosy mother tried to keep up with me.

"Do you think that he was Phantom's dad? Oh wow! Talk about abuse! Poor Phantom! Or maybe it's—"

"I DON'T CARE who it was… okay? I don't care!" I snapped. "I don't care about Phantom, I don't care what he did or how he knows that ghost, and I most certainly don't care about how he got hurt! All I want to do is find the rest of the group, find Danny, and get the heck out of here! Okay?"

Mrs. Baxter blinked then crossed her arms. "Well then…" She stuck her nose up in the air and even added the snobbish 'humph'. I rolled my eyes and kept walking.

"Hey!" She shouted worriedly. "Wait for me!"

"Seriously, Skulker…" An all-to familiar voice came to the left of us. "You would think that the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter would be… well… great?"

"What was—?" I smacked my hand around Mrs. Baxter's mouth and dove in the bushes before we were spotted. A bulk, mechanical-like man with flaming blue hair in a Mohawk-like style was about ten feet away and facing the opposite direction. In front of him was a cocky holographic version of Danny Phantom. The hologram was floating in the air, his arms were crossed and his trademark grin was planted on his face in his obnoxiously confident way. I knew this side of the ghost kid almost to well.

"Seriously, Skulker..." The holographic Danny repeated. "You would think that the—"

_**BOOM!**_

The mechanical ghost had pulled a hidden weapon out from the side of his suit that I hadn't noticed before. The shot went through the hologram and smashed into a rock behind him. The boulder exploded on impact and Mrs. Baxter and I had to shield ourselves from the dirt cloud that spiked up from the ground. When the dust cleared, only the ghost remained. My hand still clasped Mrs. Baxter's mouth and I felt her whimper through my fingers. She trembled in my arms and I had a slight feeling that if I let go of her she'd either scream or faint.

"Please don't hurt us Mr. Ghost Guy…" Our heads whipped over to a blonde teenager and overweight teacher suspended in a net attached to a tree. Lancer seemed out of it. He looked dazed and his eyes wandered around like every little detail fascinated him. "You already made Mr. Lancer loopy! Don't you think that making my English teacher smarter than me is enough damage for one day?"

Increasing my grip on Mrs. Baxter so she wouldn't run over to her son and blow our cover, I looked back at the ghost now identified as Skulker. The ghost hunter completely ignored the boy's question and set up another holographic image. It was Phantom again. This time though he was sitting down looking lazily at Skulker and sighing in a bored way.

"Come on, Skulker!" The fake Danny mocked. "Can't you at least _pretend_ to be good?" Skulker gritted his teeth and fired another missile at the rock behind the hologram. When the dust cleared, another hologram was in its place, but this time it wasn't Phantom.

The Wisconsin Ghost was grinning mischievously at the mechanical man in front of us. Now it was Mrs. Baxter's turn to hold me back. I almost dove toward the two ghosts who were having a conversation that I soon found myself listening to.

"Plasmius? What do you—?"

"Want?" Plasmius interrupted. "Well for starters, I really didn't like how you couldn't catch something as simple as a child, Skulker."

Skulker grinned. "You're not mad at me. You're only upset because you kidnapped Danny right in front of his mother."

Plasmius sighed. "I really didn't want it to come to this, but the boy just wouldn't cooperate. I had to do what I had to do, and if that means kidnapping the child of a ghost hunter than so be it."

I felt my blood boiling. I knew running out now would be a really stupid thing to do, but I wanted so badly to just attack them both. Even if one was a hologram.

"And the child?" Skulker asked. "Where is he?"

My heart sank at the image before me. Plasmius pulled the limp body of my barely recognizable son on screen. He was bound and duct-taped around his wrists and mouth and there was a small gash near the rim of his hairline. A trail of blood trickled down the side of his head and on his left cheek where he was bleeding again from an open wound. His eyes were slightly open, but they weren't looking at anything: fixed on a position in space.

I whimpered slightly and fell to my knees.

"Is he dead?"

My heart stopped. I turned around and peaked through the bushes, feeling slightly lightheaded at the same time.

"No he's not dead." Plasmius responded, tossing Danny out of camera view. "Not yet anyway. Do you have the others?"

Skulker pointed at the two swinging from the net. Dash smiled dumbly and Lancer was playing with his hands.

"Only those two?" Plasmius asked, irritated.

"It hasn't been that long since they got here." Skulker responded. "I'll have the others _very _shortly."

"Perfect." Plasmius grinned. "You know what to do when you get the rest. This is your last chance Skulker. DON'T SCREW IT UP!" The hologram of Plasmius vanished and Skulker turned around to face the two he had caught.

"I'll be back for you." He pulled out a machete and slowly ran his finger along the blade, grinning widely as he did so. With one last smirk, he disappeared into the woods. I didn't let Mrs. Baxter go right away, although she was struggling against my restraints. At first it was to stay out of sight from Skulker, but eventually my mind drifted back to Danny. I couldn't get the brutal image of his battered figure held in that creep's hands out of my mind, and I only snapped back to normally when Mrs. Baxter successfully tore through my grip.

"MOM!" Dash shouted with glee at the sight of his anxious mother running toward him.

"Hang on, honey!" She chirped, climbing up the twisted tree to untie the two. I walked over to where Skulker was standing just moments before and reached out as if I could bring back the image of Danny and pull him to safety.

A loud snapping sound and a shriek of shock and pain behind me made me sigh. I didn't have to turn around to know that Mrs. Baxter had fallen out of the tree and was still unsuccessful with loosing the knot that held the two captive. Without me, these people wouldn't stand a chance in the Ghost Zone. It hurt so much for me to say it, but Danny was going to have to wait.

"You could help a little bit you know!" Baxter yelled; straightening herself up from the fall she just took. She scurried back up the tree. My eyes dropped and scanned the ground until I found what I as looking for.

A small blade, no bigger than the palm of one's hand lay buried in the dirt. I figured with Skulker being a hunter he would have had something sharp he dropped lying about. Slowly I picked it up and ran the blade along my finger. It was awfully dull, but still sharp enough to cut through my glove and make a small white mark on my skin. It would be perfect for cutting the rope.

"FENTON!" Mrs. Baxter shouted. My eyes darted behind me, but I still couldn't see her. "Would you be so kind as to HELP US?!"

I spun around and tossed the switchblade at the opening in the rope. It sliced through and Dash, Lancer, and even Mrs. Baxter who had somehow managed to cling to the net's side fell to the ground with a thud. All three members got up, moaning in the process. I walked by them, both agitated and upset.

"THANK YOU!" Mrs. Baxter shouted sarcastically after she had brushed the dirt off her torn clothes.

My eyes dashed over to Lancer. "What happened to him?"

Dash blinked and bit his lower lip. "When we woke up we were right next to each other. Lancer said he thought it would be best if we headed away from plains eye view for safety purposes or whatever. We were walking for about five minutes and then I accidentally tripped on a string. A whole thing of darts came flying out of nowhere and at least five hit Mr. Lancer. Because I fell on the ground nothing hit me, but when I got up to go near him we set of the booby-trap, net-thing we were in. That's when that one ghost came and left and then you guys came and got us."

"SHHHHHH!" Lancer surprised us all. He hadn't spoken a word and the first thing he does is shush us. "The sky talked to me! It told me a really funny joke. Apparently a banana named Antonio is part of a Mexican mariachi band and he is trying to grow his mustache back."

"He's just drugged." I assured the Baxter's and their confused look turned to me. "It'll wear off eventually. For now, let's just look for the Foleys. I'll get you guys out of here, and then I can go get Danny."

"Sounds like a good plan." A chilling voice interrupted. All four of us were engulfed in a shadow twice our size. "You're just forgetting one thing…" Skulker's grin sent shivers down our spin. "Your plan interferes with mine…"

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**_Again, if you found any crapiness I appologize dearly. Especially for me posting this late. Hey, on the good news, you now know that I haven't lost interest in this story and I will be working on the next chapter ASAP. _**

**_AoS_**


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